Dactylocyclines, novel tetracycline derivatives produced by a Dactylosporangium sp. I. Taxonomy, production, isolation and biological activity.

A screen for antibiotics with activity against tetracycline-resistant microorganisms has led to the isolation of Dactylosporangium sp. (ATCC 53693), a producer of several novel tetracycline derivatives. The major fermentation products, dactylocyclines A and B, were purified and MIC values determined against tetracycline-resistant and tetracycline-sensitive Gram-positive bacteria. The dactylocyclines represent the first naturally occurring tetracycline C2 amides which lack cross resistance with tetracycline.     

The necessity of a test reading after 1 week to detect late positive patch test reactions in patients with oral lichen lesions

Objectives

Establishing the clinical relevance of contact allergy to dental materials in patients with oral lichen lesions (OLL) may be difficult, and tests are often read only on day 3 or day 4; also, concentration of the tested allergens may vary. Several studies on dermatitis patients have shown that additional positive patch test reactions can be found after day 4. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyse the frequency of late positive reactions to potential allergens in patients with OLL.

Material and methods

Eighty-three of 96 consecutive patients with biopsy-verified OLL were patch-tested with a recently developed lichen series. The patches were removed after 48 h and reactions read 3 and 7 days after application.

Results

A total of 129 contact allergies were found, and 26 (20.2 %) of the allergic reactions in 23 patients were seen on day 7 only. The 25.2 % increase in positive test reactions with an additional reading on day 7 in addition to day 3 was statistically significant. Metals were the substances with the highest frequency of late positive reactions.

Conclusions

Patients with OLL cannot be considered properly investigated with regard to contact allergy, unless the testing has been performed with mandatory readings on day 3 (or day 4) and day 7.

Clinical relevance

Late patch test readings are crucial in order to elucidate the role of contact allergy to dental materials in the aetiology of OLL.     

Correlation of human spermatozoa heparin binding with the zona-free hamster egg in vitro penetration assay

The purpose of our research was to determine whether heparin-binding characteristics of human spermatozoa are related to fertilizing potential, as determined by the hamster egg in vitro penetration assay. Penetration rates were standardized (hamster egg in vitro penetration assay index) by comparison with semen from fertile controls in each bioassay. Saturation of heparin-binding domains was achieved in 100% of raw ejaculates (prewash), but in only 53% of "swim-up" (postwash) samples. The dissociation constants ranged from 0.31 to 48.75 nmol/10(6) cells, and binding site concentrations from 0.47 to 20.82 x 10(17) binding sites/cell. Heparin-binding affinity was significantly greater in prewash compared with postwash samples (p less than 0.01). In prewash samples the number of binding sites differed significantly between subjects having low and high penetration indices (5.67 +/- 1.05 vs 2.01 +/- 0.34 x 10(17) binding sites/cell, p less than 0.05). In prewash samples, binding affinity for heparin significantly correlated with hamster egg in vitro penetration assay indices (R2 = 0.142, p less than 0.05). In contrast, the number of binding sites in prewash samples was negatively correlated with hamster egg in vitro penetration assay indeces (R2 = 0.201, p less than 0.05). These data indicate that the heparin-binding assay may prove to be a rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive means of assessing fertilizing potential of human spermatozoa.     

Coping and illness cognitions: chronic fatigue syndrome

The chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is described, and research on coping with this illness reviewed and analysed. CFS is a severely disabling illness of unknown etiology, which has occurred in epidemic forms all over the world. However, the number of sufferers has dramatically increased over previous years. The heterogeneous symptomatology of CFS was reviewed, and diagnostic criteria were discussed. The difficulty in establishing causality was emphasized. An interaction of factors appears most likely to be associated with illness onset and maintenance. As the mediating factor could be sufferers' coping behavior, the existing coping literature was reviewed. There might be an association between coping and physical and psychological well-being. Finally, recommendations are made for longitudinal research on coping and coping effectiveness, and for the development of therapeutic interventions.     

Butterbur root extract and music therapy in the prevention of childhood migraine: An explorative study

Background: Migraine is very common in school‐aged children, but despite a number of pharmacological and non‐pharmacological options for prophylaxis, randomized controlled evidence in children is small. Evidence‐based prophylactic drugs may have considerable side effects. Objective: This study was to assess efficacy of a butterbur root extract (Petadolex®) and music therapy in primary school children with migraine. Design: Prospective, randomized, partly double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, parallel‐group trial. Methods: Following a 8‐week baseline patients were randomized and received either butterbur root extract (n=19), music therapy (n=20) or placebo (n=19) over 12 weeks. All participants received additionally headache education (“treatment as usual”) from the baseline onwards. Reduction of headache frequency after treatment (8‐week post‐treatment) as well as 6 months later (8‐week follow‐up) was the efficacy variable. Results: Data analysis of subjects completing the respective study phase showed that during post‐treatment, only music therapy was superior to placebo (p=0.005), whereas in the follow‐up period both music therapy and butterbur root extract were superior to placebo (p=0.018 and p=0.044, respectively). All groups showed a substantial reduction of attack frequency already during baseline. Conclusion: Butterbur root extract and music therapy might be superior to placebo and may represent promising treatment approaches in the prophylaxis of paediatric migraine.     

Monitoring of lipid storage in Caenorhabditis elegans using coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy

Better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms behind metabolic diseases requires methods to monitor lipid stores on single-cell level in vivo. We have used Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism to demonstrate the limitations of fluorescence microscopy for imaging of lipids compared with coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy, the latter allowing chemically specific and label-free imaging in living organisms. CARS microscopy was used to quantitatively monitor the impact of genetic variations in metabolic pathways on lipid storage in 60 specimens of C. elegans. We found that the feeding-defective mutant pha-3 contained a lipid volume fraction one-third of that found in control worms. In contrast, mutants (daf-2, daf-4 dauer) with deficiencies in the insulin and transforming growth factors (IGF and TGF-beta) signaling pathways had lipid volume fractions that were 1.4 and 2 times larger than controls, respectively. This was observed as an accumulation of small-sized lipid droplets in the hypodermal cells, hosting as much as 40% of the total lipid volume in contrast to the 9% for the wild-type larvae. Spectral CARS microscopy measurements indicated that this is accompanied by a shift in the ordering of the lipids from gel to liquid phase. We conclude that the degree of hypodermal lipid storage and the lipid phase can be used as a marker of lipid metabolism shift. This study shows that CARS microscopy has the potential to become a sensitive and important tool for studies of lipid storage mechanisms, improving our understanding of phenomena underlying metabolic disorders.     

The use of weekly text messaging over 6 months was a feasible method for monitoring the clinical course of low back pain in patients seeking chiropractic care

ObjectiveThis study critically evaluates a new method of collecting frequent data using mobile phones and text messages. Fluctuating conditions such as low back pain (LBP) need frequent monitoring to describe the clinical course in detail and to account for individual and subgroup variations.Study Design and SettingIn this multicentre prospective observational study, 262 subjects with nonspecific LBP were followed with weekly text messages for 6 months, with the question “How many days this previous week has your low back pain been bothersome?” The text replies were instantly recorded in a data file to be merged with baseline and follow up data (age, gender, pain intensity, duration, and self- rated health) collected through ordinary questionnaires. The response rate, user-friendliness, and compliance of this method were evaluated.ResultsThe mean response rate for the text messages throughout the study was 82.5% and was unaffected by season. The method was found to be user friendly. Dropout was not affected by age and gender, but compliance was possibly somewhat affected by outcome.ConclusionWeekly text messages are a useful method of data collection to examine the clinical course of LBP in the primary care sector.     

PAL-test for malignant disease.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from a total of 300 subjects including normal controls and patients with malignant and non-malignant disorders were investigated to determine their ability to agglutinate with Poly-l-lysine 3400 (PAL-test). A high level of association between clinically evident cancer and a positive reaction was confirmed. Lymphocytes from 72 of 90 patients with malignant diseases as well as 33 of 140 patients with non-malignant processes showed positive reactions. All healthy controls were negative. The positive evidence of the PAL-test amounted to over 80%. The results and possible mechanisms of the PAL-test are discussed.